Characterization and optimization of Ce0.6Zr0.4−x Mn x O2 (x ≤ 0.4)

In situ synthesis method is used to synthesize g-C₃N₄-P25 composite photocatalysts with different mass rations. The experiment result shows that P25 particles with diameter at range of 20–30 nm were embedded homogenously in the sheets of g-C₃N₄. Coupling g-C₃N₄ with P25 can not only improve the visible light absorption, but also improve the visible light photocatalytic activity of P25. The g-C₃N₄-P25 nanocomposite has the higher photocatalytic activity than g-C₃N₄ under visible light. The optimal g-C₃N₄ content with the highest photocatalytic activity is determined to be 84 %, which is almost 3.3 times higher than that of individual g-C₃N₄ under the visible light. The enhanced visible light photocatalytic activity could be ascribed to the formation of g-C₃N₄ and TiO₂ heteojunction, which results in an efficient separation and transfer of photo-induced charge carriers. The electron spin resonance results show that the ^·O₂ ^? radicals are main active species for g-C₃N₄ and the g-C₃N₄-P25 nanocomposites.     

Synergistic effect of efficient adsorption g-C3N4/ZnO composite for photocatalytic property

Novel g-C₃N₄/ZnO composite photocatalyst was synthesized from an oxygen-containing precursor by direct thermal decomposition urea in air without any other templates assistance. Different percentages of g-C₃N₄ were hybridized with ZnO via the monolayer-dispersed method. The prepared g-C₃N₄/ZnO composites were characterized by XRD, SEM, UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS), FT-IR, TEM and XPS. The composites showed much higher efficiency for degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) than ZnO under UV and visible light irradiation. Especially, the photocatalytic efficiency was the highest under UV light irradiation when the percentage of g-C₃N₄ was 6%. The improved photocatalytic activity may be due to synergistic effect of photon acquisition and direct contact between organic dyestuff and photocatalyst. Then, effective separation of photogenerated electron–hole pairs at the interface of g-C₃N₄ is an important factor for improvement of photocatalytic activity. This work indicates that g-C₃N₄ hybrid semiconductors photocatalyst is a promising material in pollutants degradation.     

g-C3N4 modified Bi2O3 composites with enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity

Novel g-C₃N₄ modified Bi₂O₃ (g-C₃N₄/Bi₂O₃) composites were synthesized by a mixing-calcination method. The samples were characterized by thermogravimetry (TG), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV–vis diffuse reflection spectroscopy (DRS), photoluminescence (PL) and photocurrent-time measurement (PT). The photocatalytic activity of the composites was evaluated by degradation of Rhodamine B (RHB) and 4-chlorophenol (4-CP) under visible light irradiation (>400 nm). The results indicated that the g-C₃N₄/Bi₂O₃ composites showed higher photocatalytic activity than that of Bi₂O₃ and g-C₃N₄. The enhanced photocatalytic activity of the g-C₃N₄/Bi₂O₃ composites could be attributed to the suitable band positions between g-C₃N₄ and Bi₂O₃. This leads to a low recombination between the photogenerated electron–hole pairs. The proposed mechanism for the enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity of g-C₃N₄/Bi₂O₃ composites was proven by PL and PT analysis.     

石墨相氮化碳的制备条件优化用以提高其在可见光下的光催化活性

通过染料的光降解实验和敏感性数学分析探讨了石墨相氮化碳(g-C₃N₄)的制备条件与其稳定性和光催化活性之间的联系. 结果表明,相比于焙烧时间,焙烧温度的改变更为显著地影响了g-C₃N₄ 的光催化活性. 制备条件优化之后的g-C₃N₄在可见光照射下催化降解罗丹明B(RhB)的活性比未优化时提高了约100倍,归因于材料比表面积的增大和表面光生电子-空穴迁移速度的增强.     

Synthesis and characterization of nitrogen-doped TiO2 coatings on reduced graphene oxide for enhancing the visible light photocatalytic activity

Nitrogen-doped TiO₂ coatings on reduced graphene oxide were prepared via a sonochemical synthesis and hydrothermal process. The nanocomposites showed improved photocatalytic activity due to their large specific surface areas (185–447 m²/g), the presence of TiO₂ in the anatase phase, and a quenched photoluminescence peak. In particular, GN3-TiO₂ (nitrogen-doped TiO₂ coatings on rGO with 3 ml of titanium (IV) isopropoxide) exhibited the best photocatalytic efficiency and degradation rate among the materials prepared. With nitrogen-doped on the reduced graphene oxide surface, the photocatalytic activity is enhanced approximately 17.8 times compared to that of the pristine TiO₂. The dramatic enhancement of activity is attributed to the nitrogen contents and rGO effectively promoting charge-separation efficiency and providing abundant catalytically active sites to enhance the reactivity. The composites also showed improved pollutant adsorption capacity, electron–hole pair lifetime, light absorption capability, and absorbance of visible light.     

Photocatalytic degradation of phenol over novel rod shaped Graphene@BiPO4 nanocomposite

Graphene@BiPO₄ nanocomposite with unique rod shape morphology of BiPO₄ has been successfully fabricated by the simple microwave assisted hydrothermal method. The crucial role of graphene oxide in the growth of rod shaped BiPO₄ crystals has been attempted to explain in this article. Graphene oxide acts as a structure-directing and morphology-controlling agent in the nucleation and growth of nanocrystals. The as prepared organic–inorganic hybrid Graphene@BiPO₄ nanocomposite photocatalyst was characterized by various techniques i.e. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. The results were promising and shown enhanced photocatalytic activity than pure BiPO₄ for phenol degradation. The effect of graphene loading on the rates of photocatalytic degradation of phenol in solution is investigated. The result shows that the optimum photocatalytic activity of Graphene@BiPO₄ composite at 5 wt% of graphene under visible light is almost three times higher than pure BiPO₄.     

g-C3N4/SnS2异质结构:一类有潜力的光解水催化剂

采用第一性原理方法研究了层间耦合作用对g-C₃N₄/SnS₂异质结构的电子结构和吸光性质的影响.发现g-C₃N₄/SnS₂是一类典型的范德瓦异质结构,能有效吸收可见光,其价带顶和导带底与水的氧化还原势匹配,且由于电荷转移而导致的界面处极化场有利于光生载流子的分离.这些理论研究结果表明g-C₃N₄/SnS₂异质结构是一类非常有潜力的光解水催化材料.     

A facile in situ solvothermal method for two-dimensional layered g-C<Subscript>3</Subscript>N<Subscript>4</Subscript>/SnS<Subscript>2</Subscript> p-n heterojunction composites with efficient visible-light photocatalytic activity

To overcome the fast recombination rate of electron-hole pairs of individual SnS₂, p-n heterojunction g-C₃N₄/SnS₂ composites were fabricated as high-efficiency visible-light photocatalyst to photodegradate the organic dye MB. The morphologies, structures, compositions, and photocatalytic properties were characterized. The SnS₂ shows two-dimensional layer structure with an average thickness of 20 nm and diameter size of about 2 μm, and the g-C₃N₄ nanoflakes were uniformly deposited on the surface of SnS₂ nanosheets. In comparison with the bare g-C₃N₄ and SnS₂, the composites show improved photocatalytic activity under visible light, which is sensitive to the content of g-C₃N₄. In particular, the 15% g-C₃N₄/SnS₂ composites exhibit the highest photocatalytic activity and outstanding reusability, which can degrade 88.01% MB after only 1 h in the visible light (λ?>?420 nm) range. The g-C₃N₄/SnS₂ heterojunction composites show outstanding reusability after four times cycling experiments. The improved photocatalytic activities of composites are attributed to abundant active species, increased charge separation, and decreased electron-hole pair recombination, which originated from the large specific surface area and efficient interfacial transport of photo-induced charge carriers between SnS₂ and g-C₃N₄. These results suggest that the two-dimensional layered g-C₃N₄/SnS₂ p-n heterojunction composites are promised to be a high-efficiency visible-light photocatalyst.     

The synthesis of graphene-TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript>/g-C<Subscript>3</Subscript>N<Subscript>4</Subscript> super-thin heterojunctions with enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activities

In this paper, an efficient strategy for the synthesis of graphene nanobelt-titanium dioxide/graphitic carbon nitride (graphene-TiO₂/g-C₃N₄) heterostructure photocatalyst was applied to fabricate a kind of visible-light-driven photocatalyst. The heterostructure shows higher absorption edge towards harvesting more solar energy compared with pure TiO₂ and pure g-C₃N₄ respectively. Furthermore, the as-prepared graphene-TiO₂/g-C₃N₄ heterostructure can show enhanced photocatalytic activity under visible-light irradiation. These outstanding performances of photocatalytic activities for graphene-TiO₂/g-C₃N₄ composites can be attributed to the heterojunction interfaces which can separate the electron-hole pairs and impede the recombination of electrons and holes more efficiently. This study conclusively demonstrates a facile and environmentally friendly new strategy to design highly efficient graphene-TiO₂/g-C₃N₄ heterostructure photocatalytic materials for potential applications under visible-light irradiation.

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Facile photo-ultrasonic assisted synthesis of flower-like Pt/N-MoS2 microsphere as an efficient sonophotocatalyst for nitrogen fixation

Semiconductor photocatalytic technology is a sustainable and less energy consuming one for nitrogen (N₂) reduction to produce ammonia (NH₃). In this study, flower-like hierarchical N doped MoS₂ (N-MoS₂) microsphere was synthesized as a photocatalyst by one-step solvothermal method, which was assembled by numerous interleaving nanosheets petals with thin thickness. Besides, Pt nanoparticles were loaded on the surface of N-MoS₂ via photo-ultrasonic reduction method. The as-prepared Pt/N-MoS₂ photocatalyst exhibited higher N₂ fixation ability than that over pure MoS₂ and N-MoS₂, which can be attributed to that the N doping narrows the band gap, and the Schottky barrier due to the existence of Pt nanoparticles improves the charge transfer and carrier separation. The reduction of N₂ with ultrasonic irradiation was also investigated under visible light irradiation to evaluate the sonophotocatalytic activity of the Pt/N-MoS₂ microsphere. The results showed that the N₂ reduction rate of sonophotocatalysis (133.8 µmol/g_(cat)h) was higher than that of sonocatalysis and photocatalysis, which can be ascribed to the synergistic effect of ultrasound and visible light irradiation. The effects of catalyst dosage, ultrasonic power and ultrasonic pulse on the photocatalytic efficiency were also studied. Meanwhile, a possible mechanism for improved sonophotocatalytic performance was also proposed.     

First-principles study of nitrogen defect g-C3N4/WS2 heterojunction on photocatalytic activity

In this work, first-principles density functional theory simulations have been performed to investigate the influence of nitrogen (N) defect on the supercell structure, electronic structure and photocatalytic properties of g-C₃N₄/WS₂ heterojunctions. Analyses of calculated binding energies and the lattice mismatch ratios led us to confirm that N-deficient g-C₃N₄ and WS₂ were in parallel contact and form a stable heterojunction. Furthermore, the work functions, molecular dynamics simulations, charge density differences, band structures, DOS, electronic and optical properties and absorption spectra of different g-C₃N₄/WS₂ heterojunctions have been analyzed in detail. It is revealed that the compositing of N-deficient g-C₃N₄ with WS₂ improves the separation of photoinduced electron-hole pairs. N-defect enhances the visible light absorption of the heterojunction, due to the introduction of impurity energy levels. Moreover, the introduction of defect species further improves the photocatalytic performance of g-C₃N₄/WS₂ heterojunction in the visible region.     

SnO2量子点/石墨烯复合结构的合成及其光催化性能研究

本文以SnCl₄·5H₂O和氧化石墨烯为先驱物, 乙醇水溶液为溶剂, 采用一种简单的水热法一步合成了具有可见光催化活性的SnO₂量子点(约3–5 nm)与石墨烯复合结构, 利用透射电子显微镜(TEM), 高分辨透射电子显微镜(HRTEM), X射线衍射仪(XRD), 傅里叶变换红外光谱(FT-IR)等技术对其结构进行了表征, 利用紫外可见吸收光谱(UV-vis)分析了其光学性能, 罗丹明-B染料为目标降解物研究了SnO₂量子点/石墨烯复合结构可见光催化性能. 结果表明: 与纯SnO₂、纯石墨烯相比, 复合结构显示出了很高的可见光催化活性. 通过对其结构进行分析, 我们提出了SnO₂量子点/石墨烯复合结构的形成机制及其可见光催化活性机理.     

Sonochemical and visible light induced photochemical and sonophotochemical degradation of dyes catalyzed by recoverable vanadium-containing polyphosphomolybdate immobilized on TiO2 nanoparticles

Na₅PV₂Mo₁₀O₄₀ supported on nanoporous anatase TiO₂ particles, TiO₂–PVMo, was used as an efficient photocatalyst for photocatalytic degradation of different dyes by visible light using oxygen as oxidant. This catalyst showed a good catalytic activity in the sonocatalytic and sonophotocatalytic decomposition of different dyes in aqueous solutions. The TiO₂–PVMo composite showed higher photocatalytic and sonocatalytic activity than pure polyoxometalate or pure TiO₂.     

高比表面积TiO2与g-C3N4复合材料的光催化性能及机理研究

本文通过简单的溶剂热法制备了g-C₃N₄与高比表面积的TiO₂复合材料,该方法操作简单且能耗低. 甲基橙降解实验结果表明,高比表面积的TiO₂有效提高了光催化活性. 光电化学测试结果表明,与g-C₃N₄复合后,TiO₂的电荷载流子迁移速率得到明显改善. g-C₃N₄/高比表面积-TiO₂的光催化活性很强,在100分钟内,6%-g-C₃N₄/高比表面积-TiO₂对甲基橙的降解程度可达92.44%. 6%-g-C₃N₄/高比表面积-TiO₂不仅具有良好的光催化降解性能,还具有较高的稳定性. 本文对6%-g-C₃N₄/高比表面积-TiO₂的光催化机理也进行了系统的研究.     

Porous WO<Subscript>3</Subscript>/reduced graphene oxide composite film with enhanced electrochromic properties

The porous WO₃/reduced graphene oxide (rGO) composite films are prepared on indium–tin oxide (ITO) glass by sol-gel method. The mixture sol combines peroxotungstic acid solution with rGO dispersion reduced by ethylene glycol (EG). The excessive EG and other organic additives are subsequently removed by annealing, which leads to the formation of porous structure. Compared with pure WO₃ film, WO₃/rGO composite film shows improved electrochromic performance because of enhanced double insertion/extraction of ions and electrons. It realizes a large optical modulation (64.2 % at 633 nm), fast switching speed (9.5 s for coloration and 4.5 s for bleaching), good cycling stability as well as reversibility.     

Unprecedented photocatalytic activity of carbon coated/MoO3 core–shell nanoheterostructurs under visible light irradiation

We reveal that nano-scale carbon layer deposited by hydrothermal process on molybdenum oxide (MoO₃) nanowires surface significantly improve the light absorption range. Furthermore, the graphene-carbon coated MoO₃ nanocopmosite (rGO/C-MoO₃ nanocomposite) exhibits excellent chemical stability and enhanced photocatalytic activity for methylene blue in aqueous solution under visible light irradiation compared to the bare MoO₃ nanowires and carbon coated MoO₃ nanowires (C-MoO₃ nanowires). The enhanced photocatalytic activity of rGO/C-MoO₃ nanocomposite could be attributed to the extended light absorption range, better adsorptivity of dye molecules and efficient separation of photogenerated electrons and holes. Overall, this work provides new insights that the as synthesized rGO/C-MoO₃ nanocomposite can be efficiently used as high performance photocatalysts to improve the environmental protection issues under visible light irradiation.     

Photocatalysis of novel reduced graphene oxide-CoSe nanocomposites with efficient interface-induced effect

In this work, reduced graphene oxide–CoSe (rGO–CoSe) nanocomposites were synthesized with chemical solution reaction and characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, UV–vis spectroscopy, and photodegradation of toxicity malachite green in the water. The effects of rGO/CoSe ratio, initial solution pH, and H₂O₂ concentration on the photodegradation effeciency were studied. The nanocomposites showed excellent sunlight-excited photocatalytic activity to toxicity malachite green in the water. The photodegradation rate increased with increasing rGO/CoSe ratio and initial solution pH. Significantly, remarkable Fenton-like photocatalytic activity enhanced with increasing rGO/CoSe ratio and H₂O₂ concentration was observed. The photodegradation rate constant, k obs, was determined under pseudo-first order conditions. The interface-induced mechanism on enhanced photocatalysis with rGO/CoSe was suggested.     

Synthesis of RGO/Cu8S5/PPy Composite Nanosheets with Enhanced Peroxidase‐Like Activity for Sensitive Colorimetric Detection of H2O2 and Phenol

In this paper, a novel strategy for the fabrication of reduced graphene oxide (rGO)/Cu₈S₅/polypyrrole (PPy) composite nanosheets with Cu₈S₅ nanoparticles and PPy layer anchored on the surface of rGO as peroxidase‐like nanocatalyst is reported. During the synthesis, graphene oxide (GO)/CuO composite nanosheets are prepared first and used as templates, then the sulfuration of CuO and polymerization of pyrrole are accompanied with the reduction of GO, resulting in ternary rGO/Cu₈S₅/PPy composite nanosheets. The synthesized Cu₈S₅ nanoparticles with a diameter in the range from tens to hundreds of nanometers are dispersed within PPy decorated rGO nanosheets. The resultant ternary rGO/Cu₈S₅/PPy composite nanosheets exhibit a higher peroxidase‐like catalytic activity toward the oxidation of 3,3′,5,5′‐tetramethylbenzidine in the presence of H₂O₂ than GO/CuO and rGO/CuS composite nanosheets, revealing a synergistic effect on their activity. The as‐prepared rGO/Cu₈S₅/PPy platform provides a simple colorimetric approach for the detection of H₂O₂ and phenol with a high sensitivity. This work offers a new way for the fabrication of rGO‐based nanocomposite with superior enzyme‐like activity, which displays great potential applications in biocatalysis and environmental monitoring.     

Enhanced photocatalytic performance of TiO2 nanowires by substituting noble metal particles with reduced graphene oxide

Noble metal particles have been embedded in semiconductors to improve photocatalysis efficiently, but the high cost made this approach difficult to apply widely in industry. Herein titanium dioxide/reduced graphene oxide (TiO₂/rGO) nanowires in a core-shell structure were prepared. The physicochemical properties and photocatalytic performance of the specimen were characterized in comparison with TiO₂ and TiO₂/Pt nanowires. The rGO layer and Pt nanoparticles increased chemical states of the components, reduced bandgap energy of the nanowires, enhanced visible light absorption, improved conductance and capacitance significantly. The methylene blue as catalyzed by TiO₂/Pt and TiO₂/rGO nanowires was degraded to 7.9% and 8.4% in an hour, but retained 25.7% by the TiO₂ nanowires. The properties and function of TiO₂/rGO nanowires were close to those of TiO₂/Pt nanowires, while the rGO price was much lower than that of Pt, which was of great significance for the photocatalytic application of TiO₂ heterojunction materials in industry.     

Hydrothermal synthesis of graphitic carbon nitride–BiVO4 composites with enhanced visible light photocatalytic activities and the mechanism study

Novel graphitic carbon nitride (C₃N₄) and bismuth vanadate (BiVO₄) composite photocatalysts were successfully synthesized by a facile hydrothermal method. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed that an intimate interface between C₃N₄ and BiVO₄ formed in the composites. Compared with the pure C₃N₄ and BiVO₄, the C₃N₄–BiVO₄ photocatalysts showed remarkably the higher photocatalytic activities in degrading rhodamine B (Rh B). The best active heterojunction proportion was 0.5C₃N₄–0.5BiVO₄. Over this catalyst, the 100% degradation of Rh B (0.002 mmol L⁻¹) was obtained under visible light irradiation (λ>420 nm) for 40 min. The active species in Rh B degradation were examined by adding a series of scavengers. The study on photocatalytic mechanism revealed that the electrons injected directly from the conduction band of C₃N₄ to that of BiVO₄, resulting in the production of superoxide radical (O₂^•−) and hydroxyl radical (OH^•) in the conduction band of BiVO₄. Simultaneously, the rich holes in the valence band of g-C₃N₄ oxidized Rh B directly to promote the photocatalytic degradation reaction.